Beyond Zero
Emissions is an Australian climate
action group which wants “a decarbonised Australian economy by 2020” . BZE states: “Our goal is
to facilitate the implementation of the social changes and technologies that
will reduce the impacts of climate change and give our society and global
ecosystems a chance of surviving into the future”. BZE has produced a detailed Zero Carbon Australia Stationary
Energy Plan involving 100% renewable electricity by 2020 (see: http://www.beyondzeroemissions.org/
).

1. BZE in the Conclusion, Zero Carbon Australia
Stationary Energy Plan Synopsis (July 2010): “The ZCA2020 [Zero Carbon
Australia 2020] Stationary Energy Plan outlines a fully costed and detailed
blueprint for transforming Australia’s
energy sources to 100% renewable supply. This is achievable using technology [wind,
concentrated solar thermal with molten salt energy storage, and HV DC
and HV AC transmission] that is commercially available today, with no technical
barriers to their deployment. Implementing the proposed infrastructure in ten
year sis well within the capability of Australia’s existing industrial capacity. The required investment [$370
billion] is the equivalent of a stimulus to the [$1 trillion] economy of 3% of
GDP.

100% renewable energy in ten years is
achievable and necessary, ensuring Australia’s energy security,
national security and economic prosperity for the future. Australia has
some of the best renewable energy resources in the world, and should be
positioning itself as a leader in the emerging renewable energy economy. What
is required to make this happen is leadership from policymakers and society
with firm decisions made quickly that will allow this transition to occur”. [1].

2.

Beyond Zero Emissions (BZE) ZCA2020
Plan

100% Renewable Stationary
Energy for Australia
by 2020

BZE has 20 volunteer
engineers plus numerous volunteer supporters (presenters, office, IT, design):
“Our goal is to facilitate the implementation of the social changes and
technologies that will reduce the impacts of climate change and give our
society and global ecosystems a chance of surviving into the future.”

BZE launched the
ZCA2020 Plan in 2010 in conjunction with the University of Melbourne Energy Institute.
It has received wide scientific, academic and business support and some
tripartisan commendation (Bob Carr, Malcolm Turnbull, Greens Senator Scott Ludlam).

Google BZE for free
download of the ZCA2020 Report or the much shorter ZCA2020 Synopsis. You can
buy hard copies of the ZCA2020 Report from the University of Melbourne Energy
Institute.

BZE is currently
working on further Reports in relation to Transport, Agriculture and Land Use, Buildings
and Industry.

Key features of the ZCA2020
Plan

A. Why Australia must
get to zero CO2 emissions by 2020.

Professor Hans JoachimSchellnhuber CBE (Potsdam Institute,
Germany) says that for a 67% chance of avoiding a disastrous 2 degree C
temperature rise (EU policy), the world must cease carbon dioxide (CO2)
emissions by 2050 (not good odds: would you board a plane that had a 33% chance
of crashing?). If we accept that “all men are created equal” then we must have
equal shares in polluting the atmosphere until 2050. This means that high
annual per capita CO2 polluters such as the US and Australia must
cease by 2020 whereas India and Burkina Faso can actually increase CO2 pollution
before finally ceasing in 2050.

2. CST with molten salts energy
storage involves a Power Tower surrounded by a field of mirrors
(heliostats) that concentrate the solar radiation at the top of the Power Tower
where it heats molten salts (potassium and sodium nitrate, melting point 220C)
from a “cold” tank (290C) to 565C, this heated solution being stored in a “hot”
tank. The heat is used to generate steam which drives a turbine and thence generates
electricity. Molten salts storage means that the system can operate 24/7. Such
systems are already supplying commercial power in the US and Spain. Nineteen (19) 220MW (million
watt) modules will form each of twelve (12)3,500 MW solar regions (42,000 MW capacity in total; capacity factor
75%)

3. Wind turbines would
be used in 23 regions for a total of 6,400 turbines (28,000 MW; capacity factor
30%).

4. High voltage direct
current (HVDC) and high voltage alternating current (HVAC) links would make
up an efficient nationalgrid.

5. Extensive modeling
based on real meteorological data shows that in this system solar energy would
supplement available wind energy to achieve required power. Biomass and hydrolelectric
backup would be available for those rare occasions of low wind and low
sunshine.

6. $370 billion cost over 10
years. Australia
has the steel, concrete and labor resources to enable implementation and there
would be 40,000 ongoing new jobs in maintenance and operations of the system
(peak construction labor force 75,000).

7. Increased energy
efficiency (e.g. in transport, buildings, heating and cooling) is a key
part of the scheme. Indeed the power capacity would increase by 40% (from 50,000
MW now to 70,000 MW under ZCA2020) to enable electrified transport.

NB. This is just the
beginning. Top scientists say that we must urgently reduce atmospheric
CO2 concentration from the current 392 parts per million (ppm) to
300 ppm for a safe planet for all peoples and all species (e.g. by biochar
production,re-afforestation and ceasing
livestock GHG pollution) (Google 300.org).

3. 100% renewable energy by 2020 for Australia.

1. As analyzed by Professor Schellnhuber (see B1),
Australia needs to get to 0% CO2 emissions by about 2020 but it is quite
clear that there is bipartisan agreement for a policy of increasing
Australia’s domestic plus Exported GHG pollution i.e. 5% off 2000 level
by 2020 coupled with a huge increase in coal and LNG exports and in
unaddressed agricultural GHG pollution. Australia’s stationary energy
production is responsible for about 30% of Australia’s total GHG
pollution (however the exact proportion needs to be re-assessed because
of recent re-assessments from the World Bank that global livestock
production contributes over 51% of total annual global GHG pollution).
It is clearly possible for Australia and other countries to achieve 100%
renewable energy by 2020 - 2030 as set out below. [2, 3].

2. Professor Mark Z. Jacobson (Stanford University) and
Mark A. Delucchi have set out a plan for 100% renewable energy for the
world by 2030 using renewables such as wind, concentrated solar thermal,
wave, tidal and geothermal energy. [4].

3, Professor David McKay FRS (Physics Department,
Cambridge University and energy adviser to the UK Government) has set
out a plan for renewable energy for the UK. Unlike Australia, the UK has
limited solar energy resources and would have to tighten its belt
energy-wise or import solar energy form North Africa. [5].

4. A scheme for 100% renewable energy for Australia has
been set out by top electrical engineer Professor Peter Seligman (a
major player in development of the bionic ear. Professor Seligman’s
scheme involves involving wind, solar thermal, other energy sources,
hydrological energy storage (in dams on the Nullabor Plain in Southern
Australia), a HV AC and HV DC electricity transmission grid and a cost
over 20 years of $253 billion. [6].

5. An important group of science-informed climate
activists is Beyond Zero Emissions (BZE) that in mid-2010 released an
important and much-acclaimed plan for 100% renewable stationary energy
for Australia by 2020 (Zero Carbon Australia by 2020, ZCA 2020). The
BZE ZCA2020 Plan involves 40% wind energy, 60% concentrated solar
thermal (CST) with molten salts energy storage for 24/7 baseload power,
biomass and hydroelectric backup (for days of no wind and low sunshine)
and a HV DC and HC AC national power grid. The BZE scheme was costed at
$370 billion over 10 years, with roughly half spent on CST, one quarter
on wind and one quarter on the national electricity grid. [7].

7. All kinds of renewable energy mixes can be envisaged
for 100% renewable energy by 2020 for Australia using existing
commercial technologies coupled with major increases in energy
efficiency and in particular renewable energy-based electrification of
public and private transport and indeed substantial elimination of
private transport [6, 7. 11]. Note that wave, tidal, geothermal and
cheaper solar PV technologies are in development [46, 47]. Australia
spends $12 billion yearly on Carbon Subsidies (see A5), $20 billion
yearly on gambling and $40 billion per year on insurance as compared to
the estimated cost of $14-20 billion per year for an 80% wind energy
component of our projected energy needs by 2020 (see C6). [7].

8. Unfortunately, the major parties in Australia are
committed to coal and gas exports and to the convenient falsehood that a
coal burning to gas burning transition would be “cleaner” greenhouse
gas-wise – this egregious falsehood is analyzed in the next section
[14-17]. The Renewable Energy Target (RET) Bill passed by the Australian
Parliament (August 2009) sets a target of “20% renewable energy by
2020” and measures this by allotting 1 Renewable Energy Certificate
(REC) per 1 MWh (megawatt hour = million watt hour) of renewable
electricity generated and put into the grid. However what can be
regarded as renewable energy (clean energy) under the legislation
includes a number of clearly non-renewable components, most notoriously
“Phantom renewable energy” or “fake accountant’s renewable energy”
(whereby 5 RECs are issued for every 1 MWh of solar or wind electricity
put into the power grid) and natural gas (methane) e.g. Coal (C ) -, oil
( (CH2)n) - or gas (CH4) -based electricity for electric hot water
(clearly non-renewable energy), gas (CH4) -based or other carbon
(C)-based electricity for solar hot water (clearly non-renewable
energy), methane gas (CH4) from coal seams (clearly non-renewable
energy), and methane gas (CH4) from land-fill (clearly non-renewable
energy). This is an absurd and indeed counterproductive way to tackle
Australia’s world-leading annual per capita greenhouse gas pollution.
[14, 15, 18]